I first heard about the Heaven's Gate cult in January, 1994, only back thenthey were calling themselves "The Total Overcomers" or "The Overcomers". Itwas during a board meeting for the UFO organization I chaired that onemember presented a flyer she had gotten from a friend about a group ofpeople who were giving presentations about a "level above humanness" andUFOs. The board member also said she had seen them interviewed on the teno'clock news by a local TV station.No one on the board of directors had ever heard of such a group so we beganto investigate. I contacted all the facilities where they had given theirpresentations in Dallas and got descriptions of the group and their claims.I left a message on the voice mail station they had set up and they soonreturned my call. Two women spoke with me, one on each extension. As I wasto later discover, they always spoke in pairs or twos. Whether thisreflected some system of organization or in reverence to the title theleaders once used, "The Two", I do not know. Eventually I arranged for themto come to the town where I lived and talk about what their group.I never told them I represented a UFO organization because I wanted them tospeak just as if we were any audience they may be trying to reach with theirmessage. Neither did the other two board members who came to the meetingacknowledge their involvement in the study of UFOs and related phenomena andwe all pretended to be complete strangers.Right on time, four of "The Total Overcomers", 3 females and one male,arrived at the clubhouse reserved for the meeting. I had brought somecokes, vegetables, chips and dips for refreshments after the meeting. Thethin, lank "Overcomers" began eating the snacks as if they had not eaten indays! They were all above average in height, wore the same, very short hairstyles, tennis shoes, the women wore no make-up, no jewelry and all dressedin baggy shirts and pants. They took it upon themselves to arrange theseating in the room so that they sat in four chairs at the front of the roomfacing the audience.Due to the impromptu nature of scheduling the meeting in just two days,only a few people showed up. Counting myself and the two other boardmembers, there were a total of about ten to eleven people in attendance. Iasked the four Overcomers if I could video tape the meeting and they agreed.One of the board members also audio taped the presentation for back up.

They told us they had been in the "classroom" for eighteen years and their"Elders" had decided they were ready to go out into the world and find theothers who had been "implanted" with a certain "deposit of recognition"regarding that Kingdom Level's existence. They said they had been "separatefrom the world" - practicing "non-sexual, non-mammalian behavior" for thepast 18 years. According to their handouts, "If you don't want *out* of thehuman kingdom, you don't want *into* the Kingdom Level Above Human."They spoke for a long time about how religions have "unknowingly" becomevictims of slavery to Luciferian forces or "space races" as they called themand who represent themselves as "gods" but are nothing more than technicallyadvanced humans "clinging to human behavior" from previous civilizations.They said these beings use the "discarnate" (spirit) world to keep humanspreoccupied with their addictions and travel in "primitive UFOs". ("TheNext Level-the *true Kingdom of God* has the only truly advanced space-timetravel vehicles, or spacecrafts," according to their flyer.)The four Overcomers described the "Level Above Human" as a PHYSICAL KingdomLevel above the human kingdom "with souls, minds and *bodies* - not justspirit". They claimed that beings from the "Level Above Human" would comedown in their ships and take "crews" who had been taught to transcend theirhumanness and give them "new" bodies which would be better suited forsurvival in the "Kingdom Level Above Human". They described human physicalbodies as only *containers* (like "suits of clothes") for souls which areour "true identities".Two of the Overcomers, the man and one woman seemed to do most of thetalking but said none of them were "leaders" of the group. They spoke ofhow the "24 Elders" had been teaching them to overcome their humanness.They said sometimes they would get up in the morning and their classroomswould be totally rearranged. The Elders, they explained, said this"program" was to keep them from becoming fixed on anything remaining thesame and to teach them to accept the unexpected. They spoke of the "Elders"with great fondness and affection.During the entire 2 hour 16 minute meeting, all four Overcomers sat verystraight in their chairs, hands folded in their laps and their feet eithercrossed or flat on the floor. If one crossed his/her feet, the otherseventually mimicked this stance. Usually they all sat with very properposture, hands folded in their laps and both feet flat on the floor.Near the end of the meeting they accepted questions from the audience.Those in attendance were very open and expressed genuine interest in thephilosophies described by the four speakers. At one point, the maleOvercomer said most people of the world had been programmed or "brainwashed"to believe Luciferian lies. I asked him how he knew his "Elders" had notbrainwashed THEM into believing in the "Level Above Human" as mind controlis a very subtle process. For the first time, he reacted with intenseemotion and yelled, "HOW DARE YOU!!" A very visible "ripple" could be seenflowing through all four speakers and they all looked very pointedly at themale. He seemed to blush for a second then sat back in his chair while thefemale speaker to his left calmly resumed the conversation with me. He hadreacted as a "human" and they all seemed to disapprove of this.They said that only adults could come with them and if anyone wished tojoin them, they had to leave with them right then. I asked them their namesand they each told me names different from the ones they had told me on thephone. I asked them why they kept changing their names and they saidbecause there were family members trying to locate members who had joinedthem and these people did not want to be found. When asked if they had amailing addess, they would only give a P.O. Box in Richardson, Texas. Theysaid the telephone number used on their fliers was a temporary voice mailand would soon be disconnected.We thanked them for their time and they climbed into a late model economycar and left. The next day I called and spoke with them further. Two dayslater, when I called, the phone was disconnected. I wrote a review of theinvestigation and posted it on a UFO bulletin board on Prodigy. A couple ofdays later, the man and one woman from the group who gave the talk calledand expressed anger about my post on Prodigy. I asked them how they hadread my post and they said they "monitor" all UFO bulletin boards. I toldthem I had a right to my opinions and they said, "We'll be WATCHING you!" Iasked them if they were threatening me and they repeated that they would be"WATCHING" me. I said that was fine with me as I would be "WATCHING" them too!During the investigation of this cult, I was in daily contact with Dr.Karla Turner, a researcher in Arkansas (she passed away in January, 1996)and Barbara Bartholic, a researcher in Oklahoma. As I described the groupand some of their philosophies to Barbara, she said it sounded a lot like anold UFO group led by a man and woman from the seventies who calledthemselves "Bo and Peep", or "Him and Her" or " The Two". Barbara said they had once invited her to witness the "landing" of the UFOswho they believed were coming to pick them up and take them to the stars.She and a camera crewman from a local TV station arrived to film the event.The night was very stormy and the rain was coming down in torrents. Barbarasaid many "strange phenomena" occurred but no UFOs or ships ever landed andthe group moved on. Before they left, she did manage to interview severalmembers including Applewhite. That tape still exists.Acting on Barbara's tip, I began researching everything I could find on "Boand Peep". Dr. Turner also communicated with various researchers andinvestigators around the country and they began sending me all kinds of oldnewspaper clippings and information about the cult until I had a file almostan inch thick! Dr. Turner tried everything she could to locate the group and attend theirnext lecture. When they were scheduled to appear at a New Age church inArkansas, she went to the church, several miles from her town, but theOvercomers (who were then calling themselves "The Level Above") hadcancelled and did not show up. Dr. Turner was beside herself withfrustration. Then at the Ozark UFO Conference in Eureka Springs in April of1994, she discovered the group had just appeared next door at the "Lone StarBar" ( a make-shift bar for conference attendees and researchers) thatSaturday night and she had just missed them once again. She was hopping madbecause she seemed to come so close but not close enough. But the next daythey showed up at the conference and she finally got her chance to interviewthe group.I was about to give a brief presentation about photographs taken during anencounter when I was told The Overcomers were in the area. I found Dr.Turner pounding a group of about five Overcomers with questions. Dr. Turnerwas furious that they should go around giving UFOlogy a bad name byproclaiming UFOs were going to come and pick them up and take them to ahigher level of existence. Throughout the entire "confrontation" theOvercomers remained calm and placid. I found another group of six Overcomers standing on the other side of theroom so I went over and started talking with them. Unlike Dr. Turner, I didnot believe these were "soulless" people who may be part "alien" or actualaliens themselves. I was just curious about their philosophies and why theybelieved what they believed. They were extremely friendly, warm and open. The more I talked with them,the more I felt as though we'd been friends all our lives. We discussedtheories and ideas and philosophies. There were young people around theages of 19 to 25 as well as older members between the ages of 30 to 50 or 60years old. They all wore the same short cropped hair styles, no jewelry,comfortable, casual clothes and tennis shoes. There was nothing fancy orodd about them in their outward appearance and they blended easily with therest of the crowd.During the conversation, one young man said, "Have you heard of a womannamed Amy in Dallas who has been saying awful things about us on Prodigy?" Igrinned, looked at my name tag and back at the young man until he realized Iwas the "Amy" he was talking about. He only said, "Oh." We continued to converse for almost an hour. Dr. Turner kept trying toliterally pull me away reminding me of the presentation but I was enjoyingtheir company so much, I wouldn't leave. It was just a small presentationso I asked my associate to do it and returned to the conversation. Dr.Turner was certain they had some kind of "brain lock" on me and was quiteworried that I might up and leave with them right then and there or theymight "suck" my soul from my body.They told me they travel from town to town telling others about theirphilosophies. They take only two days worth of clothes for each member andcamp out or stay in motel rooms donated by compassionate managers. And likethe Texas group, they do not use their real names because they don't wantfamily members to find them and try to take them away from the cult. Theysaid there were groups in almost every state in the United States and somein other countries.When asked if they were a cult, they said "yes" and explained that allreligions are cults too, according to the definition. I found this pointhard to argue with because it is basically accurate. I asked aboutApplewhite or "Do" as he was called and they described him as an "Elder"with great wisdom. There are a lot of hardships and discipline in thegroups and they said many who join the cult cannot endure for long unlessthey are very committed to their ideals. They said the "Elders" teach themmany things and they spend a lot of time in the "classrooms" but theywouldn't say where those "classrooms" were located.In reference to people abandoning their children to join the cult, the mainspeaker for the group, a white haired woman of about 50, said they do notaccept children into the cult because they are not old enough to make suchchoices in their lives. She said only adults are accepted and when theirchildren are old enough, they, too, can join if they so desire. When Iasked about the emotional trauma these abandoned children must feel when oneor both parents leave to join the cult, the white haired woman said thechildren are always left in the best possible care and the parents - asspirit beings in these vehicles -had their choices to make and that's theway it happens. Though we reached agreement on many concepts, this was themain objection I had to the group's belief systems.The cult seems to place the individual in a "vacuum" within a "family".Each person is held responsible for his or her decisions but they are alsoexpected to function as a family, a unit or a ..."hive". These seem verycontradictory expectations and I cannot imagine any group functioning underthese circumstances.The Arkansas Overcomers were the most intelligent, open, friendly andcaring group of people I'd ever met. I wanted to take them all home with meand keep them. Now whether this was due to some cult "brainwashing"techniques or some unsatisfied need within myself, who knows? They seemedto have found what they wanted in life and wanted to share everything withothers.I apologized for being so unfair in my comments about the cult on Prodigyand promised to always represent the cult in an objective, unbiased mannerin any articles I may write about them. I intend to live up to that promisewith any persons or groups I investigate.Just before we parted company, I asked the group if I could take theirpicture and they said that was fine with them. They gathered together andsmiled broadly and openly for the camera. I look at that photo now andremember the warmth and kindness I felt when with these wonderful humanbeings. It also causes me great sadness because I believe the little whitehaired woman who often spoke for the group was among the 39 who ended theirlives and are no longer with us. I liked her best of all and would haveloved to have known her better.

As the group left, Dr. Turner rushed outside and wrote down the licenseplate number of one of the vans the group was driving. She later had ittraced and discovered it was not registered to the vehicle on which it wasposted. She tried to talk with the people to which the license plates wereregistered but was unable to locate them.I learned a sharp lesson from these my first encounters with a "cult". Ilearned not to judge others so quickly just because their beliefs aredifferent from my own. I learned that no matter how bizarre or strangeone's beliefs, they can still be warm, caring human beings (even if theydon't want to be human). And now when I listen and read all the harsh wordsand hushed whispers about the Heaven's Gate cult, I feel anger and painbecause so few are stopping to mourn the loss of these 39 fellow humanbeings. Now that they are gone, we may never know all they had to share andthis is a great loss for those of us who prefer to remain in these"vehicles" in this dimension.Most of us never got to know who these people were or what they thought.All we seem to see is "39 CULT MEMBERS COMMIT SUICIDE". Perhaps theirphilosophies were a little messed up but there were/are a lot of good, soundconcepts in their "religion". Maybe they were ashamed to be "humans" andwanted to leave their identities to reach for something better. When I lookaround at the way humans treat others of their own species, I can hardlyblame them for being embarrassed by their "humanness". But there are manygood things about humans too. I hope these 39 have found what they werelooking for but we will never know. As far as I know, Applewhite, aka "Do",did not return after three and a half days of being dead as promised.Easter '97 came and went with no sign of anyone returning from the dead.After I heard of the relationship between these 39 people and theOvercomers, I called several local TV stations and offered to share theinformation I had gathered in my files about this cult. Before I could turnaround, there was a reporter and a camera-man on my doorstep wanting tointerview me! I told them before they ever left the station that I wouldNOT appear on camera but they acted so disappointed and had such a "lostpuppy" look I finally agreed to an on-camera interview only if they hid myidentity. The reporters interviewed me for an hour and a half and when itwas over, we discovered a huge van blazoned with the TV station's logoparked in front of our house with telescoping poles towering over theneighborhood topped with all kinds of camera equipment and microwave dishes.So much for anonymity! The whole neighborhood was standing outside watchingand wondering who I had murdered or what I may be "hiding". After that, Itold all the TV stations and newspaper reporters calling that I would haveto think about any future interviews and I'd let them know.I am not an "expert" on this cult or any cult. But because of their covertlifestyles, few people know much about them. The media must have had a hardtime scurrying to find information about this cult. I'm sure the FBI knewthem well.It is just my personal opinion based on my studies and interactions withthese individuals but I believe the cult is by no means "dead". If therewere "24 Elders" and 6 members sent to "spread the word" in Texas and 11members in Arkansas, there may be more members scattered over the UnitedStates and the world. Applewhite would not leave his followers unless hefelt his "teachings" would be carried on by others. I believe Applewhiteplanned this mass suicide as a "demonstration" to gain attention for hiscult and add funds to the cult treasury. Applewhite probably planned this mass suicude for some time. The use ofexpensive rental property indicates his intentions to "go out in style". Heknew the media attention 39 suicides would draw and planned his final"appearances" even beyond his death. His choice of an expensive, lavishmansion (paid for by members) rather than a cheap, simple house or warehousegives us a clear indication of the way he wanted the world to remember himand the 39 members of his cult.Many people ask if the cult ever gave any indications that suicide was anoption. Even as far back as 1976, the press expressed concerns that cultmembers might commit mass suicide in one of their secret camps. Letters leftby those who abandoned all they cherished to join the cult often soundedlike suicide notes and reflected desires to leave "this plane of existence".So the possibility has always been part of the cult personality.I've also noticed that the ex-cult member who "discovered" the 39 bodiesstopped long enough to video tape the scene before calling the police. Whatperson claiming to be in "shock" would have the presence of mind to videotape such a grizzly discovery? Could this video tape be part ofApplewhite's plans and was the video sold to the media to add funds to theremaining cult's treasury? Applewhite may have been suicidal but he wasn'tstupid.And finally, the media has overemphasized the cult's connection to thecomet Hale Bopp and it's alleged "companion". Why didn't these 39 peoplekill themselves last week or a week later? Why did Applewhite time the masssuicides to coincide with Hale Bopp AND Easter? Applewhite was often quotedas saying he and "Peep" (Bonnie Lu Trousdale Nettles) would be assisinatedand would rise again in three and a half days and be taken up in a UFO tothe "Next Level". This is very similar to Christ's return from the dead andascension into Heaven. Perhaps Applewhite believed he would arise from thedead like Christ and ascend into "Heaven" on or before Easter Sunday.The Heaven's Gate cult is not just a bizarre anomaly to be dismissed andforgotten. They are part of the Zeitgeist, a sign of the times we areliving in. They are human beings who want to be something more than human.Rather than improve the human species as a whole, they seek only thetransendence of their individual souls. We must ask ourselves in what wayswe, as a society, prompted or promoted the events which led 39 people toleave this classroom called "Earth" and seek alternative experiences tolife. These drop outs from life will not "graduate" with the rest of us andmay, indeed, be left waiting at Heaven's Gate. The entrance to the "NextLevel" may rest solely on our ability to evolve as a species and THAT is themost important lesson we must all learn.